Don't talk to strangers
by Kausa
Summary: Roxas' life was perfect. Everything was neat, clean, and in a little row. Until one day he meets a man on the playground. What does he mean "You looked better with blue eyes"? AU Akuroku Mind-Fuckery
1. Cookie cutters

**Notes:** Yes, I _know_ what Roxas looks like.  
Please read past the first paragraph, this IS kingdom hearts.  
XD Enjoy this okay? Its...Gonna be weird.

* * *

Roxas looked at himself in his mirror.  
Same as everyday.  
Short hair, jet black like his father's.  
Dull brown eyes, just like his mother's.  
He was taller then most kids his age, and unusually skinny.  
His mother kept trying to fatten him up, but it just wasn't working.

Smoothing out his shirt, Roxas realized there was nothing special about him.  
He was average, normal, and young.  
Nothing about his life was out of the ordinary, everything was…  
Perfect.  
Just like Twilight Town.

Every house in every block was perfectly aligned.  
Every house was the same shade of tan.  
Every lawn was always cut perfectly, although he rarely saw people cutting them.

How did a town get to perfect?

"Roxas!" His mother called, "Time to leave for school!"  
He raced down the steps of his house to get to her, smiling he asked, "What time are you going to pick me up?"  
His mother held up three fingers, "Three 'o clock! On the," She poked her sons nose, "Dot!"

Roxas let out a giggle and companied his mother to the car.  
The car in question was a white mini van.  
Just like every other single one on the block.

He laid his head against the window, it was cool and hard, just like he thought it would be.  
"So are you excided?" His mother asked, her voice was monotone with a hint of happiness.  
"I guess…What's there to be excided about?" Roxas replied, not looking away from the road.  
He wished his mother would do the same.  
She sighed, "Your going to a new school, you get to meet new friends, and your going to be in the third grade! The _third grade_ honey. You're a big kid now."

Roxas groaned, "I'm eight freaking years old! I'm far from a big kid…"  
"Don't you talk like that young man!" His mother scolded, and smacked him lighted on the head.  
"Freaking?"  
"There's that word _again!_"

His mother could be…difficult.  
They soon arrived at Roxas' new school.  
Sunny View Elementary.  
It was like the rest of the town; tan, monotone, boring, and most importantly, perfect.

Grabbing his door handle, his mother asked, "Be good okay honey?"  
He nodded and received a kiss on the forehead.

They walked hand in hand to the front office, where his mother was to get his room number and all the paper work they would need.  
You know, sign up forms for little ledge and such.  
Roxas was a great shortstop.

"Hello miss, I'm here to get all of my son's paper work."  
The lady at the front desk was old, she had librarian style glasses that had a chain on them to stop them from falling.  
She had frizzy gray hair, and was slightly overweight.  
"Name?" She asked, of course, monotone.  
"Roxas Fair."

This was going to be a _long_ year.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas had a female teacher, mainly because there _was_ no male teachers in Twilight town.  
Every woman had a job as a teacher, nurse, secretary, ect.  
And all the males were firemen, police officers, you know, the fun jobs.**  
**But they were manly jobs, the women wouldn't want them anyway.

His teacher was very sweet.  
Brown hair that was braided and tied with a pink bow, blue eyes, nice smile.  
She was nice, caring, and loving.  
Like every other teacher in the school.

The classroom was somewhat colourful.  
The walls were white, the carpet was tan, and the desks were wood.

The walls were adorned with pictures of flowers.  
Ones she had taken, ones the kids drew, even a few pressed ones.  
The rug that was in the middle of the room was shaped like a flower, and it was blue.

She seemed to like flowers, she even wore them all over her dress in a print.

"Hello, hello! Class my name is Ms. Gainsborough!" She clapped her hands together and smiled as big as she could, "I want everyone to find a seat and we will begin our lesson!"

The desks in the room were pushed together in groups of four.  
Roxas found a group that only had three kids, and quickly took a seat, not saying a word.  
Luckily he didn't have to, a pudgy little boy with brown hair asked, "Hi, I'm Pence and I'm eight whole years old! What's your name?" He held out a hand which was smeared with chocolate.  
Roxas was a little reluctant to shake it.

The girl that sat next to him had brown hair and sweet green eyes, she placed her hand gently on his arm and pushed it down.  
"Pence, your had is all icky, don't be so pushy with it."  
She looked up at Roxas, "Hello, I'm Olette. It nice to meet you."  
She nodded, and Roxas nodded back.

The boy next to Roxas and across from Olette was dirty blond, he wore camo style clothing.  
He had brown eyes and seemed fairly cocky, at least for an eight year old.  
"Don't be so nice Olette! We don't know anything about this kid! He could be some creep for all we know."

Roxas stared at him, to which he stated, "See? He's staring and mommy says only creepy people stare."  
He crossed his arms over his chest and 'humphed' at Roxas.

Why was he having such a hard time making new friends?

**O.o.O.o.O  
**  
Recess came, it was bittersweet.**  
**While he was happy to get out of class, he didn't have any friends to play with.  
So he did what he did at his last school when he didn't have anyone to play found a free ball, sat in a corner away from the rest of the school and bounced in at a wall.  
It ricocheted off and rolled back.  
It was pretty fun, all in all, but he still wanted friends.  
Maybe Pence, Olette and that mean boy would be his friends one day.

He saw them playing on the jungle gym.  
The mean boy had climbed to the top of the rock wall thing, and was trying to balance and look cool.  
Once he found his center of gravity, he thrust one fist into the air and yelled something Roxas couldn't hear.  
Olette was sitting on the swing next to them, smiling and laughing.  
She was watching as Pence tried to climb the wall, but fell after his feet left the ground.

They acted like they had been friends for years.  
Roxas had a friend like that, at his old school.  
His name was Tidus.  
He was average, blond hair, blue eyes.  
Athlete, on the softball team with Roxas.  
He was…just like everything in town.  
Monotonous and boring.

But one day, something happened to Tidus, and he had to leave town.  
Last summer, about a month before school.  
He was Roxas' only good friend, so it was a hard blow.

Roxas slowly rolled the ball at the wall, and then grabbed it when it rolled back.  
He wanted to be climbing and playing with the kids from class.  
Not by himself, with some dumb red ball.

"What are you doing here?"  
Roxas looked up, looming over him was the playground person.  
He didn't know what they were called or why they were there, but they watched you to make sure you were safe on the playground.

"Playing." Roxas replied.  
"Doesn't look very fun, don't you have any friends?"  
The man was…Unlike anything Roxas had ever seen.  
Yet, he was like _everything_ Roxas had ever seen.

He had a mane of bright red hair. The roots were a deep maroon, that faded into a colour that Roxas had only seen crayons.  
His eyes were green, like bright green.  
Not jade green, or emerald green, or even forest green.  
Just…Green.  
Could people even have eyes this colour?

Underneath his wonderfully green eyes, were tattoos.  
_Tattoos_.  
Who would hire someone with tattoos on their face to work at a school?

As weird as this man looked, he looked…Normal.  
Not as in Twilight Town normal, but…Real normal.  
Comforting normal.

"Well? Don't you have any friends little boy?" His voice was like worn velvet.  
Soft, but with a hint of something much more rough underneath.

Something about this man…Roxas knew.  
It was like…His heart was meeting up with its other half again, after years of being apart.  
But Roxas was only eight, and this man was in high school at least.  
Well a drop out anyway.

"You don't talk much do ya kid?" He asked taking a seat next to Roxas on the ground.  
He was so tall…Which Roxas wasn't used to, he was normally the tallest in his group of friends.

Roxas quickly looked down, why was he so shy around this guy?  
Maybe it was because mom told him never to talk to strangers, and he didn't know him.  
But…He worked for the school.  
So he couldn't be _to_ bad.  
Then again…Face tattoos.

"You know, you don't _have_ to talk to me, I just want to keep you company."  
He was staring at Roxas.  
Didn't he know only creeps stared?

"Roxas…" He told him in a little voice.  
The man stared at him, his gaze was burning a hole in Roxas' skin.

He cupped a hand around his ear and smiled, "Please repeat that, the people in the back couldn't hear you."  
"Roxas…My name…" He told him, a little louder.

The man threw an arm around Roxas' shoulders, "Roxas huh? Cool name."  
Roxas smiled a bit, then said, "You know, mom says not to talk to strangers. And I don't know your name so…You're a stranger. So…" Roxas thought for a moment, "If you tell me your name, then you wont be a stranger anymore."

The man laughed, pointed to his temple and said, "The names Axel, commit it to memory okay?"  
Roxas nodded.  
The rest of recess, they rolled the ball back and forth.

Roxas made a friend.

* * *

**A** **note:** Aw! You know you thought that was cute!  
So yea, this is the first story I've written where Roxas' life DOESNT suck.  
I might change the name, give some advice okay?

**_Review, Fav, and Alert!_**


	2. Dad's hair and Mom's eyes

**Note:** Sorry this took SOOOO long. I've been busy. I think it makes up for it though.  
I like the end of this chapter. I hope you all do to.  
Umm so...hm...Not much else to say except, enjoy!

* * *

Soon the bell rang, and Roxas had to go back to class.  
He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants.

Axel grabbed the ball, and stood up in suit, "I'll take this, you go back to class. Okay kid?"  
He placed a hand on top of Roxas' head and ruffled his jet black hair.  
Roxas squirmed and laughed, then ran off.

"Humph, he sure hasn't changed much…" Axel mumbled as he began to clean the playground.  
It was his job after all.  
At least, for now.

**O.o.O.o.O **

Roxas settled down in his seat, and let out a sigh.  
He missed Axel already, and they had just met.

"See." Hayner stated, sitting down beside Roxas, "See! Did you see him with that playground monitor at recess?!"  
He jabbed an accusing finger at Roxas.

Olette and Pence took their seats, and Olette sighed, "Big deal, he doesn't have any friends."  
"I'll be his friend…" Pence said in a little voice.

"NO!" Hayner quickly jabbed the finger at him, "You will _not_ be that _thing's_ friend."

Roxas looked down at his hands that were nervously ringing his in lap.  
Pence simply let out a dejected sigh, and stared as the teacher started the lesson.

She clapped her hands together and smiled, "Okay class! I hope you all had a nice recess! We will begin with a project on-"

**O.o.O.o.O **

"How was your first day honey?" Roxas' mom smiled and took his hand.  
He smiled weakly and held his mothers hand tight.  
At least she would always love him.

He didn't want to tell him mom how the day had been.  
He felt…weird.  
Extra tired.  
Or…Something.  
He thinks his dad called it "stress"…or something.  
But only grown ups get stressed out.

He sighed and laid his head against the cool window.  
It was, like he knew it would be, cool.

He watched the houses zoom by, and they were like always, tan and boring and perfect.  
He just wanted to be home, in his bed.  
He wanted…To sleep for awhile.

"There was a boy in class today…" He began, he must have caught it mothers attention.  
If not, he didn't care.  
He just kept going, it felt good to talk about it.  
"He told me I was creepy…He was really mean. And then, this other kid, he wanted to be my friend and…The mean kid told him no…"  
Him mom smiled and kept her eyes on the road, "Why did that other boy listen to him?"

Roxas shrugged. He didn't answer.  
Suddenly, it didn't feel so good to talk about this anymore…

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas got out of the car to be greeted by the warm, happy face of his father.  
Roxas' mother had told him that he got his brown eyes from her, and his black hair from his dad.  
But what Roxas didn't understand is that his mom had black hair to, so why didn't he just get it from her?  
He guessed it was because him and his father had a shade darker then her.

His father had short hair, he practically buzzed it every few months.  
Just like Roxas did.  
Only Roxas was in due need of a haircut, so it was shaggy and unkempt.

"Hey son!" His father laughed as he swept him into his arms and hugged him.  
Roxas' father was strong.  
He used to be a solider.  
He told Roxas stories of that time.  
He had a friend, that was blond with crazy spiky hair. He was named after something in the sky.  
Roxas forgot his name though.

His mother smiled and kissed him, which was awkward since he was in between them.  
"Hey Zack, what are you doing home so soon?"  
"GROSS!" Roxas yelled and wiggled to get free.

His father and him laughed as he was set down.  
"No work today." He smiled and kissed his wife on the nose, "And I just had to see how my only son's first day of school was."

Roxas took his backpack from his mother and went inside.  
They were too…cuddly.  
Roxas thought that was gross. But then again, he had these…weird feelings.  
Like there was someone he wanted to act like that with. But he didn't really remember their name or face.

**O.o.O.o.O **

That night at dinner, it was the same as _every_ night.  
They ate, his parents talked about their days.  
And every now and then Roxas would contribute something to the conversation.

"I hate people like that. I'm so sorry honey." Roxas' mother patted his father's hand.  
He nodded and chewed what was in his mouth, "I know, but you gotta put up with them. Ya know?"  
She nodded.  
Roxas nodded.  
Just like always.

**O.o.O.o.O  
**  
Then it was bedtime, and then he woke up for school.  
Oh boy, school.

He got into the car, and watched the countless amounts of identical houses zoom by him.  
He guessed 'countless' was a bit over the top.  
Maybe he would count them, one day.  
One day…

**O.o.O.o.O**

Ms. Gainsborough clapped her hands together.  
Her hair was up again.  
But today she wore a pink dress, and no flowers.  
Except one in her hair.

"Today I want to introduce math warm ups!" She announced as she held up a rectangular green sheet.  
The kids let out a groan, and Roxas looked around.  
Did he miss something?

Hayner elbowed him in the side, "What? Do you _like_ math or something?"  
Roxas shook his head.  
Hayner 'humphed', "Whatever, freak…"

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas' sprit finally rose near lunch.  
Lunch meant recess.  
And recess meant Axel.  
His only friend.

He held onto his green plastic tray with excitement, only half an hour left.  
But he guessed he should take one step at a time.  
Right now, it was lunch.  
And what did Roxas want for lunch?

He decided on pizza and chocolate milk.  
Just like Hayner and Pence got.  
Olette got something more healthy, a burger with white milk.

They all sat back at their desks for lunch.  
Hayner shot Roxas daggers, "What? Are you so lonely you had to eat exactly what me and Pence ate?"  
Roxas quickly looked up at Hayner, then sighed.  
Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore.

He stood up and dumped his train in the trash.  
Food untouched.

He returned to his desk to see a very happy Hayner, he was victorious.  
"So now you're not eating? Whatever…"

**O.o.O.o.O **

Finally, recess.  
Roxas ran out with all the other kids.  
All the others ran to the spots they did yesterday.  
And Roxas…He stood in the doorway.  
He looked across the playground.  
And there was no flaming red hair.  
No burning green eyes.  
No odd face tattoos.  
How could he miss the face tattoos?

So rejected, with no one to play with and nothing to do, he sat against the wall they did yesterday.  
He just sat.  
And thought.  
And wondered.  
And…cried.

* * *

**Notes:** Yes, he cried. Why? Because hes _8_. Something you MUST remember while reading this, or you get sick thoughts about horny Roxas.  
Like my proof reader did. XD She thought him wanting to cuddle meant he was horny.

Anyway I hoped you liked this. Sorry the ending is a bit sad...  
And umm...Oh!

_**Please review, fav, and alert!**A note about reviews:_ They really make me happy. Ya know, I love writing and would even if every hated my stories, but you guys liking it and reviewing, it makes it a lot better.  
A reader will never know how good reviews make a writer until they become one. I learned that the hard way.  
You may be thinking, "Sure, whatever. You are just saying that so people will review." But no, Its true.  
I dont care if it makes you review, and I dont care IF you review AT ALL, but it makes me feel good.  
And I would hope you all like me enough to want me to feel good. :)


	3. Fiction

**A/N:** Wow, like a month and a half or so since I last updated...  
I'm SOOOOOO sorry!!!! I just...ugh, I dont know, its a long story.  
Please forgive me!  
Well on the bright side, school ends on the 16th, so I'll have tons of free time then.

So my proof reader hasnt read this yet, so...I dont know, sorry for mistakes.  
And I'm sorry again...  
Enjoy! Or at least try...

* * *

_"Where could he be?"_ Roxas thought to himself, silently crying, back to the stone wall of his school.  
Maybe he left, or was fired. Maybe the school didn't want someone so…outrageous as their playground monitor.

Did he quit? Did he hate seeing Roxas so much that he wanted to quit?

Roxas drew circles on the ground, his finger mindlessly keeping the shape.  
He didn't think he could miss someone he hardly knew.

"Are you crying kid?"  
He looked up in hopes of it being Axel. In hopes of seeing that burning hair, and those eyes, and those…  
No, it wasn't Axel. Much to Roxas' dismay, it was the mean kid from class.

Hayner.

Roxas wiped his eyes, and sniffled, "No…I wasn't."  
He stood up and stared at the ground, "What do you want Hayner?"

Hayner shoved a red rubber ball into Roxas' chest, "You were playing with it yesterday. I thought you would want it back…"  
Roxas held it, shocked, "Uh…Thanks…"  
"Don't thank me, if you play with that then you wont want to play with us. Later." Hayner tossed a hand in the air as he left. A semi-wave.

Roxas played with the ball the rest of recess. Axel was still no where to be found.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas didn't eat at dinner that night. He wasn't hungry. Which was surprising, since he didn't eat lunch either. His parents didn't question it, they were really wrapped up in some news scandal.

Someone breaking into…Something.

So soon he was off to bed, to dream about things that would never happen.  
Like happiness.  
For some reason, he had this…Sinking sensation, this hole where his happiness should be.  
He didn't know how to describe it.

He didn't dream, like he wanted.

**O.o.O.o.O**

School the next day wasn't much better.  
He had woken up with an even worse feeling then when he went to sleep.  
Something was….amiss.  
Not just with him, but with Twilight Town.

Everything seems…skewed. Off.  
The sky had more clouds then normal, the grass seemed a little long, and he noticed some paint chipping off a few houses.  
On his way to school, he even saw a broken down car on the side of the road.  
Did all this have something to do with what his parents were talking about last night?

**O.o.O.o.O**

His teacher, Ms. Gainsborough, wore her hair down, it was long and frizzy.  
Her dress was a dull blue, and her eyes seemed…Like someone turned them off.  
That was the best way Roxas could describe any of this.  
It was like someone turned Twilight Town off.

Even Hayner was acting off. He didn't insult Roxas. He didn't even talk.  
In fact, Roxas didn't think he heard anyone talk all day.  
Except his mother, who told him to have a good day half heartedly.  
Was he missing something?

**O.o.O.o.O**

No sooner did the recess bell ring, when Roxas was grabbed by the wrist and pulled out of his classroom.  
He protested the whole way until he saw who was grabbing him.  
Red hair.  
"Axel?" He asked, looking hopeful, "Where were you yesterday?"  
The man let go of his arm and sighed, "I didn't work yesterday. Sorry."  
"Its fine but…" He looked up at Axel, he had dark shading around his eyes and he looked…overly tired.  
"Are you okay?"

Axel patted him on the head and smiled, "Of course I am, I'm with you now, so everything's peachy."  
He made an "O" with his thumb and forefinger, and laughed.  
Roxas really liked his laugh.

All recess they played ball, and Axel told Roxas a story.  
A story about a terrible place called Hollow Bastion.  
He told him how the rain would pelt the people on the streets mercilessly. And how one year, the pollution in the sky got so bad, people would get burned by the rain. Roxas asked what "pool-uu-shin" meant.  
He told him about these things called "gangs" and how they beat up innocent people for money.  
Roxas didn't understand why they didn't just use their own.  
Axel told him about the worst part, about the "accident" that happened, and about how everyone had lost something.  
Roxas said he would be sad if he lost his home, his parents, or Axel again.

Soon recess was over, and Roxas had more then enough to think about.  
"Will you be here tomorrow?"  
"I can try." Axel patted him on the head, "Don't worry okay kid?"  
Roxas nodded and looked up at his eyes.  
Green. Something about the colour green…

**O.o.O.o.O**

At dinner that night, Roxas told his parents the story that Axel told him.  
There was a long silence, and his dad told him not to talk to Axel anymore.  
"You shouldn't talk to strangers son…" His voice was low, and dark.  
"But he's not a stranger, he's my friend." Roxas was hopeful.

He went to bed without a dessert that night.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas woke up to the sound of rain.  
Hard rain.  
Harder then it normally rains in Twilight Town.  
In fact, harder then its ever rained.  
His mother made him to go school with an umbrella.

Everyone was quite, like the day before.  
Everyone was still…off.  
Although, he did like Hayner being quite.

Recess came.  
Roxas stood in the middle of the playground, alone.  
All the other kids found cover to play under.  
But he stood there, with his umbrella, waiting for Axel.  
When he felt a drip.  
Of water.

He looked up. There was a hole in his umbrella.  
The rain pierced a hole it in…  
How strange.

Soon Axel found him and brought him somewhere dry to play.  
They talked, Axel told him more stories about Hollow Bastion.  
Axel was really good at telling stories, he made it seem like he had actually been there.

"What happened to the restoration committee then Axel?" Roxas laid on his stomach on the ground, looking up at his friend.  
His hair was flat today, it was wet, so its normal spikes all were plastered on his back.  
He must have been in the rain for a while.  
But…Roxas had seen him with an umbrella of his own…

"Well…" Axel began, he leaned back, resting on his hands, "The few members that are left kept trying to restore the town. I mean…where else would they all live? They wanted it to be like it was…"  
"What was it like?"  
"Oh, a beautiful place. Flowers, sunshine, colour, it was…wonderful. It was once called 'Radiant Garden', until the accident at least…" Axel had a dreamy look on his face, like he was reminiscing.  
How could he do that about a fictional place?  
"Why did they change the name after that?" Roxas stared at him, his dull brown eyes staring deep into a vivid green.  
Axel sat up, "I guess…It wasn't Radiant anymore…and all the plant life died so…It wasn't a garden."  
"That makes sense. Is it a Hollow place?"  
Axel thought, "Yeah…It is. You know Roxas, some people call it 'the place where dreams come to die'."  
Roxas sat up like Axel, "Dreams don't die silly." He laughed, "I can tell that part of your story is fake."

Axel smiled at Roxas.  
The bell rang, and they stood up.  
"You need to get to class, kid."  
Roxas nodded, "I know."

Axel ruffled up his hair, and smiled even wider, "You know Roxas…"  
"What?"  
"You looked a lot better with blue eyes."  
"Blue? Axel what do you-"  
Axel's voice was cracking, "Please don't take to long, to make them blue again…"

* * *

**A/N:** So...I hope that chapter kinda makes up for being so late and lame?  
No...Okay well...  
Sorry it was so short, it has been awhile since I've written anything real.  
So i'll try to make these more reguler and I hope I still have readers.

Sorry again it took so long and its so short...

_Please fav, review, and alert!!_


	4. Laughter

**_Note:_** Sorry this took so friken long.  
I've been busy, but the great news is...SCHOOLS OUT!  
And I dont have a life, so I can write alot! yay!  
Well, I mean Kiddy comes over a lot, but she wants me to write to so its fine. XD I can ignore her and update this.  
She's fine as long as there is Left 4 dead.

Oh yea, and Guess what? We're doing Hunter cosplays from Left 4 dead!  
Not for like a con or anything, just for fun.  
If anyone wants pictures, message me. ;) You'll like it, I know you guys.

_ANYWAY _enough of my yanking, enjoy!

* * *

Roxas looked at him. Did…Someone just turn Axel off to?  
"Axel, what do you..?"  
Before he could ask, the redhead turned and bolted away.

The rain started to get harder.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Ms. Gainsborough told the class she didn't feel like talking much. So everyone had to do some worksheets.  
Crosswords, sudoku, math problems. It all seemed endless.

"Ms. Gainsborough?" Roxas raised his hand, everyone in class stared at him.  
He had been the first student to talk since recess.  
"Y-yes Roxas?" She hesitantly walked over to him, "What do you need?"  
"Why is everyone acting weird? Is it the rain?"  
She patted him on the head, "I wish it was Roxas…." She patted him again, "I wish it was…"

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas' mom was parked in her normal spot to pick him up.  
Getting in, he noticed a dent in the door.  
"What happened?" He asked, shutting it behind him.

His mother shrugged, "Accident I guess…"  
"You guess?"  
"Your father parked next to a pole today at the supermarket…I opened it and hit it."  
"Why was dad home?"  
"….He…." She sighed, "He was fired…"

Roxas watched as his mothers face went from sad, to much worse.  
She was on the verge of crying, was it from the dent?

Roxas placed a hand on his mothers shoulder, "Its okay mom, we can get a dent out…"  
She shook her head, the tears falling freely, "No Roxas…Do you know what 'getting fired' means?"  
"Uh…" He withdrew his hand, "No, not really but it cant be that bad…Right?"

The drive home was quiet.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas was to spend the rest of the day in his room until called for dinner.  
He hugged his knees to his chest and watched the rain pelt the window.  
It still hadn't stopped.

He thought about the stories Axel had told him.  
With every word that he said, those places seemed more and more real.  
Roxas even fancied the idea of…visiting them, but that thought soon left his mind.  
Those places weren't real.  
He would be stuck in this boring town the rest of his life.  
No adventure for Roxas….

"Roxas!" His mother called, "Dinner!"

Roxas had a feeling this meal wasn't going to be to fun…

**O.o.O.o.O**

He was almost always right about things like that.

"What's fired?" He asked, his mouth full of potatoes.  
Both his parents stopped chewing in sync.  
"Well…" His father began.  
He was always the optimist, "It means…" He smiled, "I'll be spending everyday with you son!"  
Roxas returned the smile.  
His mother cried silently.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas tossed and turned in his bed.  
The rain was keeping him awake.  
It had gotten much harder since recess, he was glad he was inside.

Finally he fell asleep on the idea of Axel.  
He would be at recess tomorrow.  
He would tell Roxas even more stories.  
And if it was raining and cold, Axel would warm him up.

**O.o.O.o.O**

The next day was much like the one before it.  
The rain had still not stopped, and Roxas noticed a few more yards that looked unkempt.

His teacher was absent to.  
Her replacement was tall and thin.  
He had blond hair that was tied up in a pony tail, and green eyes.  
"I am to be called Mr. Nozawa, and nothing else." He slammed his hands onto the desk, hard, and added, "Understood class?"

Roxas couldn't stop staring at this ugly man.  
He had eyes just like Axel, and yet…So unlike Axel.  
They were the same colour, but underneath them…Roxas couldn't put his finger on it.  
But something big made them very unlike Axel's eyes.

**O.o.O.o.O**

The whole class was excited to be released from class for recess.  
This was the happiest Roxas had seen them in a few days.

It was odd. The first Friday of the year, and it was raining harder then it ever had in Twilight Town, and it didn't seem like anyone had any weekend plans.

Roxas didn't, but that was because he didn't have friends.  
He took one step out of the door and was greeted by Axel.  
Red hair, green eyes, face tattoos, and big, strong hands.  
Big, strong hands that were pulling him fairly hard away from the door.

Axel seemed…scared of something, and he kept mumbling about having to 'get away' from someone called 'Vexen'.

Axel stopped once they rounded a corner, and were a safe distance away from Roxas' classroom.  
"Axel, what-"  
"Don't worry about it Roxas, I just…wanted you to get to recess faster, Ya know?"  
Roxas raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "No, I don't…"

Axel thought for a second, "Uh, well…I just…" He smiled big and clapped his hands together, "I just wanted you not to stand in the rain! I didn't want you to catch a cold, right?" He nodded, "Right."

He grabbed Roxas once more and pulled him to the ground, where they remained the rest of recess.  
Roxas was happy to just be with his only friend.  
Wait, friend…

"Hey Axel?" He smiled at the redhead, "Can I ask you something?"  
Axel nodded, "Sure, anything."  
"Wanna spend the night this weekend?"

Axel was shocked, "Uh well…I would love to Roxas but…"  
He laughed nervously, "You see, I'm kinda old for that stuff…"  
Roxas' smile soon faded, "No you're not…You just don't want to…"

Axel shook his hands at Roxas, "whoa whoa whoa! Slow down Roxas!" He could see tears forming, he had to think fast, "Listen I'll…I promise I'll visit you this weekend, okay?"  
Roxas still looked sad.  
Axel placed a hand on his head, ruffled his hair, "I cant 'spend the night', but I'll visit. And I'll make it worth your while, and I know you'll have a good time just…" He sighed, "Don't cry…"

Roxas looked up at him, even sitting down he was hugely taller then him, "Are you just saying that so I wont cry?"  
"No, of course not!" He left out a mock-angry 'humph', "You're my best friend Roxas…I…" He smiled, was he reminiscing again?, "I really miss hanging out with you, so this weekend I'll take you somewhere special. But there's a rule."

Roxas began to smile again, "What is it?"  
"You cant," Axel shook a finger at him, "And I mean _cant_, tell your parents about _any_ of it. Deal?"  
Roxas nodded, "Deal."

They sat and smiled at each other until one burst out laughing. Then they laughed together for a while.  
Roxas thought it felt good to laugh with Axel.

* * *

**Note:** And she wrote fluffly Akuroku moments, and they were good.  
Teehee, hope you liked it!

_**Please review, fav, and alert!**  
_

_**By the way**_, I wanna thank everyone who HAS reviewed, faved, or put me on their alert list.  
It makes my heart happy.  
So thank you.


	5. Puzzles

**Notes:** Sorry this took so ungodly long to post. I dont know why I keep doing that with this story.  
Well I do this time, writers block. Ugh, its terrible.  
On the bright side, I acutaly like how this turned out. Kinda...Parts of it at least.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was raining again, hard.  
Then again, _here_, it always rained hard.

He watched it hit the streets and broken buildings out the window.  
Each drop, seemingly so harmless, yet bringing so much destruction.  
He missed the plants, the greenery, the life.  
Everything now…It all seemed so bleak and lifeless.

"You alright?" He turned around, his best friend leaning against the door jam.  
"Yeah…I was just…Thinking." He let out a mock fake smile.  
"Of when we were kids?"  
A nod.  
They watched the rain break the outside world together.

**O.o.O.o.O**

It was finally Saturday. Roxas always loved the weekends.  
He got to get up when _he_ wanted, he got to watch cartoons and even eat breakfast on the couch _while_ watching his cartoons.

His poison of choice for today's breakfast was packed with marshmallows that had the consistency of cardboard and at least half the taste. The actual cereal in the mix, which was about a third of it, was colourful and bland.  
Luckily, Roxas was eight, and colourful cereal packed with marshmallows made of cardboard was enough to fill his belly and make him think he was eating something tasty.

He took his bowl and plopped himself onto the couch, he was short so his feet didn't hit the ground, they swung freely to his own inner beat.

The cartoons played in front of his eyes, the cereal being consistently shoveled into his mouth, but he wasn't watching and he wasn't tasting. He was lucky he wasn't choking with how absentminded he was being.  
All his senses and brain skill were being devoted to thoughts of Axel, and what was to come this weekend.  
As he was told, he didn't speak a word to his parents.  
But, _Ohhhh, _how he wanted to.

He finished his breakfast and slurped up all the extra milk from the bowl.  
On the next commercial he headed for the kitchen to put his dishes away.  
"Mornin' teeny." His dad chirped at him from the table.  
He was drinking coffee clad in a pair of pajama pants and fuzzy blue slippers.  
"Morning dad." Roxas beamed back at him, "Why are you awake so early?"

His father finished his coffee with an "ahh" and set the cup down, "I'm going job hunting today. Wanna come with me?"  
"No." His mother serenely interrupted from the stairs she was walking down, "He will not go with you to something like that."

Roxas and his father looked at each other then back to his mom, "Why not?" Roxas whined.  
"Because…I-I need you here today."  
Roxas pouted and sat back on the couch.  
He asked his father what 'job hunting' was, and if he would need a gun.  
He smiled at him and told him that it just meant he would be spending less time with Roxas again.  
That is, if he caught something.

**O.o.O.o.O**

After Roxas finished his cartoon, he took a shower and got dressed.  
He had no idea what time Axel would be picking him up, but he wanted to dress nicely for him.  
He didn't know why, but for some reason, Roxas wanted to impress Axel.

So he picked out his 'nice' clothes.  
A black button-down shirt, gray cargo shorts, and he even wore a special black and white checkered bracelet thing his grandma brought him back from her last vacation. He thought it made a nice touch.  
He was told only to wear it on 'special' occasions, and Roxas thought seeing Axel was special.

He looked himself over in the mirror for some time.  
His hair was getting long, it needed to be cut.  
Maybe he should ask his mother to take him somewhere and get it cut.  
But…what if Axel came by while he was gone?  
It was best for him to stay around the house today.

When he was finally okay with his hairstyle, although all he really did was brush it a different direction, he went back downstairs to entertain himself with something electronic.  
Upon arrival to his living room, he took a look around.  
He wanted to make sure if Axel came over while he was sitting in here, he was doing something that would be impressive.  
But…what?

While Roxas was racking his brain trying to figure this out, his vision landed on his book shelf.  
Of course! He could read!  
Older kids read a lot, and they seemed smart and that would surely impress Axel!

He walked over to his dark mahogany book shelf, it was filled to the brink with think hard back books, and smaller paper back, and everything in between. His mother loved reading, and had probably read most of this.  
Roxas scanned the shelf for something entertaining. He couldn't see the first few shelves, because it was _much_ taller then him.

He finally picked a paper backed book that wasn't to thick, but still thick enough to impress.  
He took a seat in the recliner next to the shelf, and served his new book.  
The front of it looked like what Roxas thought was a picture frame wrapped in wrinkled, brown, old paper.  
Above the main picture was the novels name in red letters, "Rose Madder".  
It was by some guy named "Stephen King", but Roxas had no idea who he was.  
He saw a lot of books by this guy in his mothers book shelf, so he guessed he was good.

Roxas was a very fast reader for someone of his age, so after the first hour of reading he had gotten through a far amount of the book, and was highly disturbed.

"Roxas!" His mother called, and he jumped.  
"What?!" He snapped, then regained his composer and cleared his throat, "Uh, I mean…what mom?"  
"I'm going downtown, I'll be back in about three hours. Be a good boy while I'm gone, okay?"  
Roxas agreed, and she left.

**O.o.O.o.O**

"How…Did this all happen?" He asked his best friend, whose arms were wrapped around him in comfort.  
"I…Don't know."  
They were still watching the rain. That was all that was really left to do anymore.  
Watch the rain and huddle against the cold it brought.  
"I really miss it…" He bowed his head, and his friend hugged him harder.  
"Don't be so down, look on the bright side, we still have each other. And everyone else to."  
"I wish…" He looked back up, the rain was getting even harder, "We could have been saved somehow."  
He was hugged even harder.  
"I wish…" He began, but his mouth was shut by a kiss from his friend.  
When they broke apart, his friend told him, "I wish it too, so does everyone..."

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas had fallen asleep mid way through his book.  
He was stuck in a nightmare brought on by said book, and was shaken awake.  
He jumped, then blinked a few times to clear his blurry eyes.  
Red…  
"Axel!?" He blinked a few more times, to see if it was really him, "What are you doing here?!"

Axel quickly placed a hand over Roxas' mouth, "Shh, Roxas, are your parents home?"  
Roxas shook his head 'no', and Axel let him go.  
"What are you doing here? How did you find my house? What are we gonna do?" Roxas was bubbling with excitement.

Axel stood straight and thought for a moment, "Lets go to your room, and uh…Play a game or something."  
Roxas agreed and took Axel up the stairs to his room.  
They found a place on the floor to sit, and decided together to do a puzzle.

Roxas was a little disappointed by all this, but he was so happy to be with Axel.  
Something about him made Roxas feel warm, and he just wanted to smile when he was near him.  
Even Roxas and Tidus were never this close, and they had been best friends much longer then five days.

"Where does all this blue go?" Axel said, studying a piece of puzzle by holding it up to the light.  
He was sitting like he did at recess, legs out in front of him, leaning back, supporting himself with his free arm.  
Roxas was looking for lavenders, like the few on his piece, "Try the sky Axel."  
"Gotcha!" He laughed and found the place for it.

"So…" Roxas began as he placed a piece of a ducks head together, "What do grown-ups do for fun?"  
Axel watched him and smiled, "I'm hardly 'grown-up' Roxas."  
"Then how old are you?"  
Axel thought, counted on his fingers, then replied, "Seventeen. How old are you?"  
"Eight." Roxas said right away.  
Axel nodded, "Eight is a fun age, but you know a better age?"  
Roxas shook his head.  
"Seven. It was my favorite age. I miss it."  
Roxas scrunched up his face, "Why? I like being eight better then being Seven."  
Axel smiled, "I was Seven before…Never mind."

"No, tell me." Roxas pouted.  
Axel ruffled up his hair, "Another time buddy."

They started working quietly on the puzzle again, and Roxas asked, "Why aren't you in school Axel?"  
"Oh well…I dropped out."  
"Why?"  
"I had better things to do with my life." He put down a piece that finished the border.  
"Like?"  
"Like work at your school." He smiled and picked up a piece of puzzle, "Where does this go?"  
"Why would you want to work at my school? Shouldn't you got to school and get smart so you can get an even better job? Dad says that's why I need to stay in school." Roxas disregarded Axel's question.

He placed his piece down, "I…I have my reasons, okay buddy?"  
Before Roxas could say anything, he heard his mom open the front door.  
Axel's eyes got big and he panicked.

They both stood up fast, and Axel ran to a window, "How high is this room?"  
"Really high! Don't jump!" Roxas was panicking to.

"Roxas! Come down here, I have something for you!" His mother called.  
He looked at Axel, who was literally turning in circles trying to find a way out, "I have a plan."  
"You do?"  
Roxas nodded, "Stay here, and I'll tell you when I come back."

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas sped down the stairs and met his mother with a smile, "Yes mom?"  
"Here." She handed Roxas a chocolate cookie, "I thought you would like a treat."  
"Thank you."  
His mother sighed and leaned on a chair, "I'm going to go lie down now Roxas, please don't bother me for a bit, okay?"

Roxas hugged her and told her to feel better, then ran back up to his room.  
Axel was laying on his bed, staring up to the ceiling.  
"I like your bed." He told him as he entered the room.

Roxas sat next to him and smiled, "Here…" He broke his cookie in half, and gave Axel the bigger side.  
They sat on his bed, and shared his cookie, and laughed.  
_'Just like old times…'_ Axel thought.

Once they were done, Axel hung his arm around Roxas' shoulders, "Well, what's the plan Roxas?"  
Roxas leaned into Axels semi-hug and sighed, he smiled nice, and this was really comforting, but he didn't know why.  
"Well?" He asked again.  
"It doesn't matter now, my moms asleep, you can just leave through the front door."  
Axel looked down at Roxas, "This means I have to go doesn't it?"  
Roxas nodded.

They walked together down the stairs, slowly, neither one talking.  
Once they reached the front down, Axel sighed, "Thanks for letting me come over Roxas. Sorry it was so boring…"  
Roxas shook his head, "No, I had a lot of fun. Whenever I'm with you its fun Axel."  
They exchanged a few smiled, then Axel said, "I cant see you tomorrow. But when Monday comes around, I promise to see you at recess. Okay?"  
Roxas smiled and nodded, "I plan on it."

Axel opened the door and stepped onto the porch , Roxas held the door for him.  
"I'll see you then, okay?"  
Roxas nodded.  
Before he knew what was happening, he was being hugged tightly, his face in Axel's stomach because of the height difference.  
"I'll miss you."  
When Roxas looked up to reply, Axel kissed him on the forehead and left.

* * *

**Note:** _FLUFFY!!!!_ Tee-hee, I thought some of it was cute.  
Heres a tip to help you understand all this. _Everything_ in this chapter is happening in the present.

**And if your still having trouble understanding my story**, since that happens a lot, go check out my profile.  
I'm adding a section for a recap of the story as it progresses. I gave one to a good friend and she said it helped her understand.  
Also, updates on my writing and reasons why I'm not updating are there to, in case your ever wondering why its taking me so long to type anything.

_So please review, fav, and alert!_


	6. A light rain

**Note:** DLKGHSJDKHGSKJDHFASLKDHDFSHSDFSEAPIOWW I hate this chapter...I really do.  
I just want to start over and redo it all but...Grr...  
Its really fillery and crappy...

Try and enjoy...

* * *

Roxas stared at his door.  
Had Axel…Just kissed him?  
He watched his door in shock for a few moments before slowly lifting his hand to his forehead.  
Axel…

Something felt weird about all this. Something felt like…It had all happened before.  
Only backwards. Like Roxas was in Axel's place and he was leaving him.

Before Roxas knew what he was doing his feet were moving, he was running.  
Chasing Axel down.  
"WAIT!" He screamed, Axel turned around and Roxas was latching onto his legs, hugging for dear life.

Axel simply patted his hair and smiled, "I told you I would see you on Monday. What's wrong kid?"  
Roxas began to sob into Axel's pant leg, mumbling something about how he couldn't leave.  
The taller man kneeled down, and hugged the boy, "Roxas…Shh, Roxas listen to me."  
He was having a hard time getting Roxas to hear him over the sobs.

"Roxas…" Axel slowly stroked his hair, and moved them so he was holding the boy in his lap, "Everything will be fine, I promise."  
Roxas merely sobbed into Axel's chest, and ignored his words.  
Axel kept stroking his hair, holding him tight, waiting for whatever it was that upset the boy so much to pass.

Soon, Roxas' eyes dried, and he looked up at Axel, "Don't leave."  
"I have to."  
"Don't, you wont come back."  
"Why not?" Axel scrunched his eyebrows together, and made a silly face.  
Roxas giggled, "Because," his tone went sad again, "That's what happened last time…But…it was me, I never came back."

Axel hugged him tight, "Roxas, it must have been a dream or something…"  
"No, it…"  
"Your fine, I'm fine, and I promise I will see you again."

Axel walked Roxas back to his house, hand in hand, and gave him a tight 'goodbye' hug at the door.  
He placed his hands on Roxas' shoulders, "Monday, recess, right?"  
Roxas nodded and Axel left.  
For some reason, Roxas was okay with it this time.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Axel leaned against the railing of the boardwalk.  
It was there to protect people from falling in, Axel wondered how many people were really saved by it.

He looked over, watched the waves roll and crash.  
"I cant believe it," He told himself, "This is all…"  
He struck a match, and threw it into the ocean, watching the small flame extinguish in seconds.

Pushing off the railing, he stretched and started to walk.  
He places his hand on the wood of a nearby building, "He did wonderful work…"

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas fell to sleep easy that night.  
He dreamed.  
But to him, it didn't fell like a dream.

He was standing in a broken down building, and Axel was there.  
He could see blond hair falling in front of his face, and he was taller, not by much but still.

"I'm glad," Axel told him, "I told you, you look so much better with blue eyes."  
"But I don't have blue eyes Axel, I have brown ones!" Roxas shouted.  
He didn't know why he was shouting, but Axel started to shout to, like they were trying to talk over something.  
"I really missed you! We all did!" Axel shouted, and he seemed like he was getting farther and farther away.

"AXEL!" Roxas screamed and tried to grab him, but he was short again and he couldn't see his hair in his eyes anymore, Axel was drifting away, not saying anything.  
"You promised!" He screamed and fell to his knees, "You….promised…"

Roxas screamed as he woke up in bed, sweating.  
He looked at his hands, they were damp, and he felt his hair, it was short.

He got up and ran to his bathroom, he had brown hair and brown eyes and was the short little eight year old he fell asleep as.  
"Roxas, honey what happened?" His mom burst through the door, not caring that its polite to knock on bathroom doors.  
"I had a bad dream…"

She took him into her arms and hugged him tight.  
It felt…Forced, like she didn't want to.  
Or…something like that.

Roxas fell asleep without anymore more hassle that night.

**O.o.O.o.O**

It was still raining. Then again, it had been years since it had stopped.  
"Aren't there plants that can survive this?"  
"No, they all drown." His friend told him.  
They sat there, taller holding the shorter in his arms, watching it rain.

There wasn't much else to do, not anymore anyway.  
"I heard…" He began, "He's going to come back soon."  
"It wont last…"  
"It has to, you know what they are doing to…"  
"Shh…"

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas slowly ate his toast at the table, he was lucky not to have anymore dreams last night.  
He wondered why his family didn't go to church on Sundays, like the families on TV.  
Did Twilight town even have a church?  
"Mommy?" He asked.  
"Shut up Roxas, I'm very tired." She told him while she leaned against the wall, sipping her coffee.

Roxas quickly looked down, and watched his toast.

**O.o.O.o.O**

The rest of the day was spent with Roxas entertaining himself.  
Playing a memory game with cards, doing a puzzle by himself, watching the sky do…sky things.

Boring, but what else would he do?  
His parents spent the day fighting, his father left and drove away fast. His mother cried.

This had never happened before, it was strange.  
Worst part was, he didn't care.

Should he?  
"Fish." he pointed at a cloud in the sky.  
Eh, probably not.

**O.o.O.o.O**

"I guess…" He told himself, sitting under the shade of a tree, "I should go see him."  
He watched the clouds roll by, and he could fell a slight chill in the air.  
It was nice, home wasn't like this.  
It wasn't like this at all.

A leaf fell on his nose.  
It all seemed…So wonderful.  
Roxas could wait.

**O.o.O.o.O**His mother sobbed, his father was no where to be found, and yet…  
Roxas didn't really care.  
He just kneeled in front of his window, picking out clouds.  
He wondered what clouds would taste like…

"Flavorless cotton candy I bet." He said, smiling and resting his arms on the window sill, and his head on his arms.  
"Would flavorless count as a taste?" He cocked his head to one side, and wondered.

"I bet Axel would know…Axel…" He sighed, he didn't care about the welfare of his parents, but he missed Axel more then anything. It didn't seem right.  
Nothing in Twilight Town did anymore.

He looked back up, and noticed one of the clouds was fading away.  
It was getting smaller and smaller.  
Then once it was gone, another one next to it did the same thing.  
Soon the sky was cloudless.  
Weird.

**O.o.O.o.O**Axel leaned forward, the clouds were disappearing.  
Did anyone around him see this?  
Of course not, they…

He stood up, something was happening.  
This couldn't be good.  
Or…Could it?

He didn't know how it worked, maybe this is just how clouds evaporate.  
He was being overly sensitive.

His back hit the tree and he slid down.  
"Roxas…" He uttered under his breath.  
Why was it that boy was all he could think about anymore?  
He wasn't enjoying the clear day, the shade of the wonderful tree, or the leaves that hit his head every now and then.  
He was thinking of Roxas.

But Roxas would be fine, wouldn't he?

**O.o.O.o.O**"That's odd." He told his friend, "The rains letting up."  
His friend lifted his head up from it place of resting on the younger mans head, "Your right…"  
"Its been….how many years?"  
"To many to count."  
The younger man looked at his friend, "Can we…can we go outside?"

The older man shook his head, "No, it will still hurt us. But maybe…" he watched the rain let up, it was almost a light rain by now, "Soon."

The other man smiled, "Soon's good enough for me!"  
They laughed, and both thought how nice it was to smile again.

* * *

**Note:** Ehhhhhhh I dont like it. I dont have much else to say.

Review plox. I dont expect much else from this piece of...Bad writting...


	7. Goodbyes

**A/N:** Be warned!!! I actualy like this chappy. O.o, how did that happen?  
Well my proof reader hasnt read this yet, sadly, so sorry for the mistakes that are in there. I got into writing this and...I dont know, sometimes I miss a lot of obvious mistakes when I get into someting.

Enjoy!!!

* * *

Roxas laid his head on the window sill, and gave way to the dreams that caught him.  
Dreams of a beautiful field.  
There were flowers of all colours, and a big tree.  
Axel fwas sitting underneath the tree, his back to it and his head at an awkward angle.

It started to rain, the droplets hit the petals of the flowers, and wilted them.  
The rain grew harder, and it striped the leaves from the trees.  
Axel didn't move.f

Suddenly all the flowers were dead, laying on the ground with melted petals.  
The tree was bare, and the bark was being striped away by the rain.  
Axel's skin was melting off.

Roxas couldn't look away.  
He simply watched as the redheads skin melted off, showing how white his bones were.  
His hair thinned, and it began to fall out. Roxas never knew the skull had so many fracture lines on it.  
His clothing disintegrated, and his eyes began to bubble.

Roxas was disgusted, why couldn't he stop watching!?  
Soon Axel's eyes burned away, and his skin was completely gone.  
All that was left was a skeleton.  
The rain got heavier.

Holes formed in Axel's bones as the rain hit them.  
The same thing was happening to the tree, and all the grass was long gone.  
Axel's skeleton fell over, and blew away as dust in the wind.  
The tree was melting and bubbling, would it have the same fate as Axel?

"ROXAS!!!" Roxas was jolted awake by his mother calling him.  
He looked around. No destroyed flowerless field.  
No melting tree.  
No dead Axel. He hoped…

"Roxas!" She called again, and Roxas hurried downstairs.  
His hand rested on the banister, "Yes mother?".  
"Get down here!"

He obeyed, and followed her voice to the kitchen.  
She was leaning against the stove, wearing a robe, and holding a mug in her hand.  
She was angry, and it looked like she hadn't brushed her hair all day.  
"Where were you?"  
"Sorry, I fell asleep."

She gritted her teeth, "Asleep? Why were you _asleep_?"  
Roxas yawned, unaware of his mothers anger, "I was…tired?"

There was a loud smash, and Roxas didn't know what happened until he saw the pieces of glass on the floor. He looked up and saw the dent in the wall, next to his head.  
Eyes wide, he looked to his mother.  
She was fuming, her stance had chanced and she seemed to be looking for something else to throw.  
"This time!" She yelled, picking up a dirty plate left over from breakfast, "I wont miss!!" She hurled the plate at Roxas' head.

He ducked into a shivering ball on the ground. What was going on?  
Another smash, Roxas barely opened one eye and saw a different colour of glass on the floor beside his feet.  
His mother was yelling, but he couldn't understand her, there was more smashing and crashing, and more and more glass was falling around Roxas.  
He was covering his neck with his arms, his knees pushed up to his chest. His face being hidden.

Another very loud smash, and Roxas could feel water dripping down his arm. But only his arm.  
The front door slammed shut, and then it was silent for a while.

Roxas stood up, and looked around.  
The microwave had been pushed from its spot on the counter to the floor.  
The refrigerator was open, the door slightly ajar, off the hinges a bit.  
Roxas looked back to where he had been. There was so much glass.

He tip-toed further into the kitchen and cleaned up what he could.

The glass on the door to the microwave was shattered. The fridge wouldn't shut fully anymore.  
There were no more dishes in the sink, and the "hot" handle was gone.

Roxas tip-toed to the front door to avoid glass, and he locked it.  
He took a chair, and jammed it under the door knob.

He took this procedure with every door in his house. He locked all the windows and barricaded himself in as well as he could.  
Once finished he sat on his couch.  
What was going on?

Roxas sighed and looked down at his hands. Red.  
He saw red on his right palm. Smeared blood.  
He turned his arm over, and saw a cut on his arm and…something else.

He looked closer, and saw there was a tiny shard of glass in it.  
He ran to the bathroom upstairs, not caring as he ran through more glass in the kitchen.

Roxas didn't know why he was in such shock. Maybe it was because his own mother did this to him.  
Maybe it was because she was doing it on purpose.  
He took the tweezers, and got his arm very close to his face.

It hurt, and he just winced through the pain. He dug into the cut on his arm, trying to get all the glass out.  
Once he was sure it was all out, he ran it under cold water. He didn't know why, it just seemed like a good idea.  
With a sigh, he sat on the toilet seat. Then did the same to his feet as he did to his arm.  
He mentally slapped himself, this could have been avoided if he was more careful.

He sighed again. What was going on? What was happening to the town he knew so well, the life he had lived for the past eight years?  
Where was Axel when he needed him?

**O.o.O.o.O**

"I wonder what will happen." He yawned and rested his head against his friends chest.  
They were laying in bed, watching the ceiling.  
"I don't know…The best bet would be nothing changes, right?" The older man told him.  
He looked at his friend, "The best bet would be everything going back to how it was eight years ago."  
"Its been eight years already?" His friend's eyes glazed over, "Feels longer…"  
"It wont…Will it?"  
"Who knows…"  
"I know who does…"  
His friend sat up a little, making his head slide down, "You do?"  
"You do to."  
"Oh yea…_him._"

They both glared a bit, sighed, and went back to resting.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas needed to lay down. He didn't know what was going on, and it was making him dizzy.  
He pushed open his door, slowly and with a sigh.  
"Why so glum?"  
Roxas looked up so fast his neck cracked, "AXEL?!"

The familiar redhead was laying in his bed, one leg propped up over the other knee.  
His arms under his neck. He looked comfortable.  
"Yes?"

Roxas ran over to him, and jumped on him, hugging him while also laying on him.  
Axel awkwardly wrapped his arms around the boy.  
Roxas pushed his face into Axel's chest. He inhaled the sent, memorized it.  
Axel watched him, a small smile across his lips.

"Roxas…"  
That name from Axel's lips made Roxas shiver.  
The shivering grew to shaking.  
And before he knew it, Roxas was sobbing into his chest.

Axel patted him gently on the back, 'shhing' every now and then.  
Telling him everything would be alright.  
This was everything Roxas ever wanted when things got bad, his whole life.  
When his grandma died, this is all he wanted.  
When he lost his best friend Tidus, this is what he needed.  
When Hayner was mean to him, and he had no friends, this was what could have made him smile.  
And today, when he was digging in his cuts for glass, he was glad he got this to make it all better.

Axel did that to Roxas. He made it all better. He didn't know what "it" was, but Axel made it better.  
Why couldn't they just live together? Then whenever Roxas was sad he would have Axel.  
And if Axel felt the same way, then whenever Axel was sad…He would have Roxas.  
If he would take him…He would always have Roxas.

Roxas looked up into those green eyes that comforted him, "Axel?"  
The redhead smiled and nodded, "Yeah?"  
"Stay with me."

The smile quickly fell from his face, "Roxas, there's a reason I came here…I…"  
Roxas' eyes watered and he began to shake again, "Yeah?"  
"I have to say goodbye. Just for now…"

Roxas' head slammed back into Axel's chest, he sobbed and Axel comforted him.  
But this time it wasn't the same.  
His hand didn't make Roxas' back tingle anymore.  
His words didn't help, they only made it worse.  
He would leave. He was going to leave him…All alone.

Axel was going to leave him, just like Tidus did, and just like his parents did.  
Roxas quickly looked up, "Are you going to throw things at me first? Or tell me how you found better friends and are glad I'm changing schools?"

Axel leaned forward and kissed Roxas' forehead. His lips lingered there for a bit.  
"Roxas…" He breathed against his forehead, "This isn't forever."

Roxas climbed off Axel, and the redhead stood up.  
"What do you mean?" Roxas stomped his foot.  
Axel placed his hands on the boys shoulders, his face was shadowed, obscuring his eyes.  
"Roxas…" His voice was breaking, "You're my best friend, you always will be. I will never leave you, I'll always come back."

Roxas watched the ground, "I…I believe you."

The two walked to the front door, hand in hand.  
Roxas undid the locks, and followed his friend outside.  
They stood a few steps off his porch, staring at their feet.

"Roxas…" Axel's voice was breaking even more, and Roxas could see the tears slide down his cheeks.  
He wish he was taller, he wished he could wipe them away and hug him and tell him everything would be alright.  
"Y-yeah?"  
Axel kneeled down and hugged the boy tight, "Roxas…Promise me something okay?"  
Roxas agreed.

As Axel stood back up, he kissed Roxas' cheek, forehead, and the top of his head.  
He lingered, he didn't want to part with the boy.

When he finally stood, "Promise me…We'll see each other again, in the next life?"  
Roxas looked at him questioning, "What do you mean?"  
"Just….Just promise me okay?"

Roxas held out his left pinkie, a stupid smile on his face, "It's a promise!"  
Axel watched him for a second, smiled, and grabbed the little boys pinkie with his own.  
They shook and in unison told each other, "Promise!"

Axel stood straight, and smiled, "Goodbye…Roxas…"  
Roxas waved enthusiastically, "Bye-bye!!"

Axel walked away, waving slowly as Roxas waved back frantically.  
He waved and waved until he couldn't see Axel anymore.  
He kept waving frantically, until his arm grew tired.  
Then he fell to his knees and sobbed.

**O.o.O.o.O**

"I hate you both." Axel told them.  
"Why?" He asked, lifting his head off is friends chest, "We didn't do anything."  
Axel punched the wall next to him, "I don't fucking care, I still hate you."  
His friend smiled slyly, "Aw, someone miss their crush?"

Axel's eyes watered and he screamed, "Shut the fuck up Riku! You don't know how fucking painful this is!"  
Riku raised an eyebrow, "Must be terrible, being in that world with grass and trees and a blue sky."  
His friend patted his arm, "Don't make fights…"

Axel slammed the door behind him while leaving, his back hit it and he slid down.  
He remembered doing this at the tree today, only much happier.  
He cried, and pounded his fists against the ground, muttering, "Roxas" every now and then.

"Must be tough." He told Riku.  
Riku scoffed, "Yeah I bet."  
"It probably was. Leaving Roxas and that world and coming back…here…"  
Riku looked around, he looked out the window to the rain, "Good point."

* * *

**A/N:** SO....MUCH....PLOT....  
I hoped you liked it and I really hope it makes up for the last few fail chappies.  
XD Arent you gald you finaly know who one of the people I keep calling "Him" and "His friend" are? Well I hope you can guess the other person.  
But I bet I just made this a hell of a lot more confusing, didnt I?  
Tee-hee, its what I do best!

Awww you all have to go download Flele. Its _SOO _cute!!  
Its a little music player that sings to you and sits on your current page.  
Mine was playing the whole time I wrote this. Its a little Rin Vocaloid.  
I'll shut up now...

_**Anyway, Please Review, Fav, and Alert!!!!!**_By the way: My reward for writing this is: More higurashi!! yay!!!! Clap for me damn it!


	8. Eightthirteen

**Note:** SORRY!! This took SOOOOO long!! I cant believe how lame I am...Anyway, I hope this chapy makes up for it, a lot of stuff happens.  
Uhh not much else to say, except take the poll on my page please. Oh, and sorry this is so short.  
Enjoy!

* * *

Roxas watched his tears hit the cement.  
He couldn't stop the crying, no matter how hard he tried.

He watched as the rain added to his own salty drops on the sidewalk.  
Soon the rain picked up, and his tears dried.

Standing, he sighed, "Why Axel?"  
The boy looked straight up into the sky, the rain burning his eyes.

He didn't shut them, he didn't care.  
Maybe, he thought, if he stared long enough, Axel would fall from the sky like an angel.  
This was absurd, he knew, but he just hoped.

"Roxas?" His father asked, walking up to him from the car, "Roxas?"  
No answer, he kept looking to the sky.  
"Roxas?!" His father shook him, "What are you doing son?"  
Roxas finally tilted his head and looked at him, "Nothing. There's nothing left _to_ do…"

His father stood and sighed, "Come inside, its raining. You'll get sick."  
"I don't care…"  
"Yes you do."  
"Nope…Why should I? He's gone…"

"Who's gone?" His father asked, picking up his son, "If you mean me, well I'm right here."  
Roxas looked away from his father, "Not you…"  
"Then who?"

**O.o.O.o.O**

Axel sat with his knees hugging his chest, on a lumpy bed in a dark room.  
He twiddled his thumbs absent mindedly.  
"You know what has to happen now, don't you?" Riku stood in the doorway, his skinny frame blocking the light.  
"Yes, don't remind me."  
"I wonder how it will happen." Riku continued, "Will it be slow, and painful?"  
"Stop it Riku…"  
"Will it be fast, but agonizing?"  
"Stop it…"  
"Maybe, he'll drown. Or get hit by a car, or even better," Riku laughed, "A bus!"  
"Riku!"  
"Oh! I know! He'll get beat to death by his own parents!! That would be great!"  
Axel stood and ran at Riku, his hands going straight for the neck.  
The silver-haired teen ducked in time and Axel fell to his knees.  
He sobbed.

Riku kicked him in the side, causing him to fall over, "Pathetic."

**O.o.O.o.O**

His father was right, and Roxas spent the next day sick in bed.  
His mother came home with groceries, and both parents acted like nothing had happened.  
Neither one noticed the wound on their sons arm, even when he asked about it.

They acted like he was crazy, and sent him to bed without supper. Good, he didn't want any anyway.

"I'm not crazy." Roxas told himself, playing with the open wound on his arm.  
"This really happened, I didn't do this to myself."

He looked out his window, "But…they don't see it…"  
Roxas was watching the rain, it hadn't stopped since Axel left. It grew hard, and people stayed inside.  
It was just rain, why were people avoiding it like the plague?

His back hit his soft bed, and for a moment he thought it wasn't so comfortable.  
And that the world seemed like a dark shade of gray.  
But only for a moment, then everything was normal.

What was going on with him?

**O.o.O.o.O**

Sora, Riku, Axel, and everyone else living with them sat around the table.  
They ate their meal in silence, like normal.  
Axel just…watched his. Maybe he was hoping it would run away.  
And maybe if it ran away, he could follow it.  
And maybe, if he followed it, it would led him to Roxas.  
And then, just maybe, if it led him to Roxas, he could be happy again.

"Axel, eat your meal." Sora told him, "We don't want to waste food. You know what _he_ will think."  
The redhead agreed and ate in silence.  
He hoped Sora wouldn't get in to much trouble for speaking of _him_.

**O.o.O.o.O**

"The next life…." Roxas asked the ceiling of his room.  
He had been laying there for hours, the sun was coming up.  
Why wasn't he worried about school? He had to be there soon, didn't he?  
Roxas had lost all thought of time and what day it was.  
Though he was sure it was…probably Monday.

Something compelled Roxas.  
He stood up, and got dressed in his 'play clothing', the clothes he ripped and mom told him to only wear when he was playing outside.

Standing in front of his mirror, he nodded, "This is good."  
He left his house without anyone the wiser.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Axel, unknowingly, was mimicking Roxas.  
He had laid in bed all night, watching his ceiling. Thinking of Roxas.  
The sun was coming up here to. He wondered if Roxas was awake, watching the same sky.

He knew it was cliché, but he didn't care. It was as romantic as it was cliché.  
Was Roxas watching the same sky? Probably not, seeing as they had different skies.  
It was almost impossible, almost.  
And if Roxas _was_ watching the same sky as Axel…Well he had a lot more problems to deal with.

"Don't let what Riku's been saying get to you." Sora was standing in the doorway this time. Almost perfectly mimicking what Riku had done.  
"Why not?"  
"Because…He can be a real ass sometimes." Sora shifted position.  
He was short, less light was obscured by him.  
"Sometimes?"  
"Most of the time."  
"Why do you stay with him?"  
Sora shrugged and shifted again, "Destiny?"  
"You can decide your own destiny you know, I think we've all proved that…"  
"I know. And if you remember, before all the world fell, I decided it."  
Axel raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"  
"I said I wanted to stay with Riku, so we shared that fruit."  
"I wish we had done that…" Axel rolled onto his side, away from Sora, and sobbed.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Before Roxas left, he noted the time to be almost five in the morning.  
He had to wait three more hours.  
He brought along his fathers wrist watch, to be sure to note the time.

The boy didn't know what was making him what to do this.  
He didn't know why it had to be done at a certain time either.  
He just…had to.

Roxas strolled along the sidewalk, making way for the park.  
He had four more blocks to go.  
Passing the trees, the flowers people planted in their yards, and the wonderful scent of breakfast cooking in most of the houses he passed, Roxas was happy.  
He thought he knew what he was doing, and if not, well this was one hell of a way to figure it out.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Axel was finally up and about. He had nothing to do. He lost Roxas.  
Temporally, he hoped, but still. He was _currently_ without the boy. Which was a good enough reason to mope.  
He never changed from his pajamas, which consisted of plaid red sweat pants and fuzzy pink cat slippers.  
The drawstring on his pants was loose, making them sag off his hips.  
At any moment a prankster could pull them down with the greatest of ease, but he knew no one would.

He drug his feet to the kitchen and grabbed some weird homemade juice one of the girls made for them.  
Pouring it into a cup, he wondered if this was all his life was ever to amount to.  
"Don't leave that out." The brunette warned him.  
"I wont." He told her, putting the container of juice in the fridge.  
While drinking it, he mentally noted it was fruit punch.

**O.o.O.o.O**

It was harboring on eight in the morning.  
Roxas was sitting in the park, on a bench, waiting.

The bench he choose was oddly close to the street, so people usually avoided it.  
He checked his watch.  
8:10.  
He smiled. Soon.

He stood and dusted off his pants. He didn't know why, they weren't dirty or dusty.  
A sinister smile graced his lips, it was 8:11.

Roxas cleared his mind of all but one thing.  
Axel.  
Axel would like this, and he couldn't wait.

Or maybe, a thought crossed his mind, he wouldn't. Maybe Roxas was horribly wrong.  
Maybe Roxas got this whole thing backwards.  
Maybe he really was crazy, and maybe Axel didn't even exist.

8:12.

But how could Roxas be doing this for someone that didn't exist?  
It didn't make sense.  
Not to Roxas, and surely not to anyone.

He cleared the thought from his mind, and placed his note on the bench.  
If he was right, if everything he thought about was correct, then this tiny piece of paper was useless.

8:12, and 40 seconds.

Roxas stepped away from the bench, and his foot hit the street.  
This was happening, nothing could stop it.  
He looked both ways, like his mother had taught him.

8:12, and 50 seconds.

He saw it.  
10 seconds.  
No mistakes on this one.  
He had to do this.

8:13, on the dot.  
A semi truck hit Roxas, killing him instantly.

* * *

**Note:** Okay, before you start throwing rotten fruit at me, let me say this: This is NOT the last chapter.  
Dont worry. But I cant give anything away so...Sorry, you'll have to wait and see!

_**Please review, fav, and alert!  
**Oh! And check out my story on Fictonpress!_ I use the same name as this site.


	9. Hollow Bastion

**Authors note:** Sorry this took so ungodly long. I've been swamped with school starting.  
Uh, besides that, I dont know what to say. So uh...  
Enjoy.

* * *

Roxas opened his eyes.  
He saw blond hair draped in front of his face.  
He was in a gray, broken down building.  
It was like the night that Axel had kissed his forehead the first time. Roxas dreamed easy that night.

But this. This wasn't a dream. There was no Axel this time, and his vision was blurry.  
Blinking a few times, he tried to clean his eyes, he felt like he hadn't used them in ages.

With some effort, he lifted up his arm and rubbed his eyes, pushed the hair from his face.  
Once able to see clearly again, he looked around.  
He was leaning back on something, it was hard and metal.

The area around him was broken, many electronics filled the room.  
There were a few doors leading out, and he could hear a tough rain pound the roof.  
It didn't sound too stable.

From his survey of the room, he saw he was alone, completely.  
He took a step forward, his knees buckled, and he fell to his hands.

The ground was dirty. These people must have never heard of a vacuum or broom.

Roxas tried to stand. He noted that he scraped his elbow.  
He was also wearing very odd clothing. Baggy gray pants, and a tattered old gray shirt.

Once he got his footing, he looked back at what he had been leaning on.  
Without noticing, he had ripped out several I.V.s that were in his arms, legs, and one in his neck.  
At least he guessed that's where they had been, judging by the wires and tubing left on his "bed".

To his left, he noticed another bed like his, and two more to his right.  
"What is going on here?" He asked, quickly grabbing his throat, "What's wrong with my voice!?"

In shock, he decided to venture out, to see what was going on.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Axel was seated on a window sill, he sighed and watched the rain.  
Looking over his room, he smiled.  
Two beds.

He scoffed, "Why does he think we'll need two?"

Soon, he told himself, soon the nights wont be lonely.  
Soon the bed wont be so empty.  
Soon everything will be right.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Roxas went the closest door to him.  
It was ajar, so he pushed it a bit.

"Whoa…" A spiky haired brunette said. He looked to be about 16.  
A teen male was laying under him, he had long silver hair and a very angry look on his face.

Roxas watched them. The older male glared.  
The younger laughed and said in a sing-song voice, "Axel isn't going to be happy about this! Your early! And seeing _us_ first? Ohhh hes gonna be mad!"  
"Axel!? You know Axel!? Where is he?!" Roxas shouted, ignoring how odd his voice sounded to him.

The silver haired boy scoffed, "Why should we tell you?"  
"Riku…" The brunette scolded.

Roxas sighed, "Please…"

**O.o.O.o.O**

He leaned his head against the window. Cold. Wet from condensation.  
How much longer?

Balling his fists, Axel groaned. His finger nails pressed into his palm, growing in pressure.  
Soon he was bleeding.  
He knew how much Roxas must be suffering right now.

All he wanted to do was scoop him up in his arms, and carry him away somewhere beautiful. Safe. Warm.

But he couldn't. He was powerless.  
Axel didn't like feeling powerless.

He lifted his head away from the window, only to slam it into the glass.  
He closed his eyes, shutting out all the dark, dank hopelessness of this world.  
"Roxas…" he whispered.  
He was slowly sinking into despair, and the one person that could save him…  
Was indisposed.

A hand touched his shoulder. It was warm. Human.  
"Go away Sora."  
The hand gripped tighter.  
"I said go away. I don't want to talk about it."  
Tighter still.  
"Get away from me Sora, or I'll-"  
"Axel?"

His eyes sprung open, his neck whipped around so fast, he swore he almost got whiplash.  
"Roxas!" He yelled, jumping onto the boy.  
The two hugged, the most wonderful embrace in years.

**O.o.O.o.O**

Axel explained it all to Roxas over dinner.  
Not much explanation was needed, Roxas finally remembered it all.

When he was eight, and Axel was nine, the world fell into a terrible war.  
Poison filled the air, infested the clouds, and acid rain killed the plants.  
It hadn't stopped raining since.

Rich families sent their children to live in these places. Sleep chambers, to keep them safe until life got better. Until the rain stopped.  
They also employed other families, to work and care for their children.  
Many of the adults died, leaving only the kids left.

Axel, along with Sora, Riku, and two girls named Naminé and Kairi, had grown up here.  
They were cared for by an elderly man, but he passed away last year.  
Since then, they have been taking shifts to protect those left in the sleep chambers.

Roxas' best friend, Tidus, was a sleep chamber patient. He was taken out, given freewill.  
Against the wishes of the rest, he ventured out. The rain killed him.

There were a few others, none that Roxas knew. All met the same fate.

Its been eight years since Roxas saw real sunshine.  
Since he breathed real clean air.  
Since he had played in real grass.  
And it dawned on him, now he would never do any of those things again.  
And he wondered, was that why the others willingly went outside, in the rain?  
To live in a life void of nature or sunshine, or to taste it one last time, dying for it?

**O.o.O.o.O**

After dinner, Axel took Roxas up to the roof. There was a safe spot they could stay and watch the rain.  
Axel spent most of his time here, when he wasn't watching Roxas' life on screen.  
He knew there were many unanswered questions, but they had all the time left in the world to talk about them. Right now, Roxas had eight years to catch up on.

Axel wrapped his arm around Roxas' shoulder, and the blond cuddled up to him. This all felt more natural then anything that happened in Twilight Town.  
Most everything made sense to Roxas now.  
It was nice, knowing what's really going on.

After a few moments of silent cuddling, Roxas kissed Axel.  
Passionate, long.  
Just what both had been waiting for.

Once the kiss broke, Axel smiled, "Roxas look…The rain stopped."

End.

* * *

**Authors note2:** Well its over. I dont know what to say...I dont really like it, there are a lot of lose ends but...Eh, whatever.  
If your wondering, Roxas was eight because he was "reborn" in Twilight Town.

Personally, I liked the very, very ending. The last line or so.

Anyway, **_please Review, fav, and author alert!_**

Also, I wanna thank all my reviewers and people that alerted this story. For sticking with it and waiting for each craptastic chapter.  
I love you all, your reviews mean the world to me. Thanks_ sooo _much!


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